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i’m dnf’ing this for now because it feels like nothing is happening in the book and I just feel no connection to the characters. Maybe I’ll return to it later, but i’m just not feeling this right now.
This was a bit slow-moving at the beginning but I really started to get into the story after a few chapters. I thought the main characters were well painted and I loved both of them.
There were some good tensions and dilemmas throughout that kept me interested and entertained and I was looking forward to seeing how everything would pan out.
However, a few things happened at the end that were, in my opinion, a bit too convenient to be believable. The plot was too forcefully pushed in certain directions without explanation as to how or why some things happened. That was a bit disappointing because those issues only arose in the last few pages of the book so the story ended on a bad note.
Still an enjoyable read though and I definitely wouldn't be against continuing in the series.
There were some good tensions and dilemmas throughout that kept me interested and entertained and I was looking forward to seeing how everything would pan out.
However, a few things happened at the end that were, in my opinion, a bit too convenient to be believable. The plot was too forcefully pushed in certain directions without explanation as to how or why some things happened. That was a bit disappointing because those issues only arose in the last few pages of the book so the story ended on a bad note.
Still an enjoyable read though and I definitely wouldn't be against continuing in the series.
So, I liked this book but I felt that there was too much going on for me to keep track of and all of the plot lines were kind of all over the place and there was just too much information given at some points.
I received a free copy from Disney Hyperion through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Sold to a debtor's ship, Amaya has spent years serving under a ruthless commander as she tries to erase her debt. When she rescues a stranger from the seas, he promises her wealth and revenge on the man who ruined her life. In order to serve this revenge, Amaya must use the man's son, Cayo, but as she gets closer to Cayo and the truth, Amaya must make some hard decisions about what to do next and who to trust.
Billed as a gender-swapped retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo there are certainly undertones of the source material here. Since this is going to be a series, this felt like a mixture of the Edmond Dantès and initial emergence of the Count section of Dumas's novel. I say this because much of what transpired in Scavenge the Stars was a fact finding mission as Amaya learned how various threads in her life connected. Also, though she has been able to get revenge on some minor players by the end of the novel, the big three that seem modeled on Fernand Mondego, Danglars, and De Villefort are essentially still at large. I won't say who I believe each of Dumas's characters appears as in Scavenge the Stars since there are some reveals in the final quarter of the book that are worth waiting for.
The story itself is told from two viewpoints: Amaya Chandra and Cayo Mercado. If you enjoy dual points of view, this might be a great novel for you. As a reader, I felt the two perspectives allowed the reader to empathize with Amaya and Cayo who are also victims since they are both pawns in a larger game. I will say that I did find Amaya's viewpoint more intriguing as she grappled with her life on the debtor ship and then tried to reenter society.
This book was a bit slow as layers were added to a very complex plot that featured a large number of characters. In the final quarter of the book, the pace picked up and led to a climax that wraps up many of Amaya's and Cayo's discoveries and sets up the plot for the next installment. Overall, I did enjoy the novel and would read the sequel to continue Amaya's and Cayo's journey.
Sold to a debtor's ship, Amaya has spent years serving under a ruthless commander as she tries to erase her debt. When she rescues a stranger from the seas, he promises her wealth and revenge on the man who ruined her life. In order to serve this revenge, Amaya must use the man's son, Cayo, but as she gets closer to Cayo and the truth, Amaya must make some hard decisions about what to do next and who to trust.
Billed as a gender-swapped retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo there are certainly undertones of the source material here. Since this is going to be a series, this felt like a mixture of the Edmond Dantès and initial emergence of the Count section of Dumas's novel. I say this because much of what transpired in Scavenge the Stars was a fact finding mission as Amaya learned how various threads in her life connected. Also, though she has been able to get revenge on some minor players by the end of the novel, the big three that seem modeled on Fernand Mondego, Danglars, and De Villefort are essentially still at large. I won't say who I believe each of Dumas's characters appears as in Scavenge the Stars since there are some reveals in the final quarter of the book that are worth waiting for.
The story itself is told from two viewpoints: Amaya Chandra and Cayo Mercado. If you enjoy dual points of view, this might be a great novel for you. As a reader, I felt the two perspectives allowed the reader to empathize with Amaya and Cayo who are also victims since they are both pawns in a larger game. I will say that I did find Amaya's viewpoint more intriguing as she grappled with her life on the debtor ship and then tried to reenter society.
This book was a bit slow as layers were added to a very complex plot that featured a large number of characters. In the final quarter of the book, the pace picked up and led to a climax that wraps up many of Amaya's and Cayo's discoveries and sets up the plot for the next installment. Overall, I did enjoy the novel and would read the sequel to continue Amaya's and Cayo's journey.
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I'm floating between 2 stars and 3 stars on this book.
Retelling aside, I was frustrated for most of the book because Amaya was just so rash and not stupid...but silly.
The world building is there but somewhat lackluster.
However, the book really picks up in the last quarter when the plot twists come undone. I think the sequel has the opportunity to be much better than this one.
Retelling aside, I was frustrated for most of the book because Amaya was just so rash and not stupid...but silly.
The world building is there but somewhat lackluster.
However, the book really picks up in the last quarter when the plot twists come undone. I think the sequel has the opportunity to be much better than this one.
DNF. I can’t with this book. It takes the story it’s adapting and scuppers everything that created drama and tension in the original, so it’s less an adaptation and more a boring revenge plot. This was also the final nail in the coffin of reading stories with teen girl assassins—I just can’t do it anymore. Sorry.
Not a perfect retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo, but that's fine. The names kind of drove me crazy, mainly "Cayo" (it sounds too much like the annoying cartoon kid), and the world-building was a little confusing or incomplete. I couldn't quite figure out the politics, the geography, the level of technology, etc. As for the plot, there were times I was invested in what was happening, and there were times I was not. At the end, it was clear this is building up to a series, and I'm sort of on the fence whether I would continue or not.